


Under Storms

by underwaternature



Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Meetings, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 10:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18386294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/underwaternature/pseuds/underwaternature
Summary: There was another woman with him, Richter noticed, as they both took shelter from the pouring rain.





	Under Storms

Richter inwardly cursed at himself as he jogged through the rain, determined not to get himself soaked to the bone. The pouring rain just had to come at a very inconvenient time, hadn’t it? The forecast earlier that morning did say to watch out for heavy showers, but leave it to resident dumbass himself to forget an umbrella. Maria’d probably be rolling on the floor if she heard about this.

He passed by other university students as he went through campus. Some, like him, did not have anything to protect against the rain and were looking for shelter. Others had umbrellas or raincoats or at least something to keep them drier than the unfortunate ones. Richter adamantly refused to use his backpack as a makeshift umbrella. He had some very important assignments and notebooks in there thank you very much. He’d prefer not to get a terrible grade just because he let them get ruined by water.

It wasn’t long before he reached the nearby bus stop he frequented. He had been attending this university for three years now, a junior essentially, so coming here was a familiar and honestly relieving sight. His dorm was five minutes away by bus and all students were given a free bus pass, so why not use it? It made for some quick power naps at least so that was a bonus. At twenty-one years of age, Richter Belmont was a prime example of an exhausted college student with too much work and too little time. Hooray.

As soon as Richter got under the overhang of the stop he took off his hoodie and sighed. His shoes and pants were soaked already, and his toes were getting numb to boot. Suddenly feeling a wave of tiredness, he sat down on the empty bus to wait. From his pocket he pulled out his phone and checked the time. Four forty-three. Damn, the bus wouldn’t arrive for another seventeen minutes. Usually he’d see this as a good thing and go to the nearby sandwich shop or whatever, but no way in hell was he doing that in this weather.

So, Richter waited. He leaned back against his wet backpack and stared into the ceiling of the overhang. He had no interest in playing on his phone at the moment, sadly, and he quietly started to lament the fact that he didn’t bring any food with him. He should really start doing that.

About twelve minutes into the wait, he noticed someone new join him on the other side of the bench. He sat up straighter peered out of the corner of his eye, curious to see who it was. It was a young woman, with blue hair and a yellow hairband, with a brown leather book bag in her lap. She wore a dark blue turtleneck sweater with a black jacket layered over, as well as gray yoga pants and black and white sneakers. Her legs were crossed at the ankles, and she appeared to be frowning at something on her phone screen. Their eyes met briefly—a typical moment of mutual awkwardness—and the two looked away a second later. Richter thought her eyes were pretty.

They stayed like that for another minute or so. It was awkward to say the least but not out of the norm. They were strangers, and his bus was coming soon, so why bother to interact? They were tired, shivering, and certainly not very happy people on that particular day. Still, Richter couldn’t help but get curious. Who was she? What year was she in? What was her major? Reason for attending? With nothing else to do, his mind liked to fill in the silence with dumb, mundane food for thoughts.

The rain continued to pour, with the gloomy skies accentuating that fact, and for some reason his mouth decided to do something before his brain could approve of it. “Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Richter asked to thin air. Instantly his brain proceeded to berate itself for doing such a thing until the woman, to his pleasant surprise, responded.

“Yes, such a lovely day we’re having,” she replied, her voice dripping with a type of dry sarcasm. Richter couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“And yet I can bet that neither of us are enjoying it in particular. Am I right?”

He saw her crack a smile. “True. I can also say for certain that the both of us are soaked and tired from a long day in class,” she added.

“Yeah. You can say that again.”

They lapsed into silence again after that. Though they had only exchanged a few words so far, Richter liked her already.

“What’s your major?” he asked.

“Business management and administration major and political science minor,” she answered. “You?”

Impressive. “Civil engineering for major and religious studies for minor. I’m pretty interested in how the world works, so thought the courses’d be a good fit me. Plus I felt—how should I put this—unsatisfied, I guess, that I didn’t really have a set goal of what I wanted to do for my future? Anyways, thought I’d do something I at the very least liked and so far I’ve been enjoying it. It’s kinda a weak answer, I know, but that’s what I have.”

She hummed, understanding. “I can sorta see where you’re coming from, I suppose. I know I’ve had moments like that before, when I wasn’t sure where I was going with my life. The reason I’m taking my major is because my father is the CEO of a company I’m set to inherit in the future; my minor is simply something I’d like to learn about and something to balance my résumé. In fact, I’m here on a scholarship. My father also went to school here, as did my grandfather. I've only been one year here as of now, but it’s a good school in my opinion. I like it.”

“That’s actually pretty cool. You must work pretty hard to live up to that expectation though, right? Are you even still alive?”

“Heh, somehow. I’ve been living on coffee and protein bars for the last week or so. My roommate has even admitted to me that she’s started wondering when she’ll find me passed out on the couch at some point.”

“That would suck for sure. I live alone in my dorm but let me tell you it is an absolute mess. I shudder to think if my grandpa saw it. He’d give me hell.” He added a laugh. “Don’t worry though. As a junior and therefore your upperclassman, I can safely say for sure that it does get better; and by that I mean that no, it doesn’t, it arguably gets worse, and you simply get used to it as time goes on, digging yourself a deeper grave each year.”

The woman laughed with him. “As a freshman and therefore your underclassman, I’d say you’re not helping and arguably a bad influence in saying that college is literal death and not saying otherwise, essentially advertising the last thing people would want to advertise.”

“Hey, I’m only speaking the truth! In my first year I remember, very vividly, pulling many all-nighters with only sporadic naps, snacks, and energy drinks being the only things keeping me from dropping dead right in the classroom.”

They burst out laughing, chortling and shaking. Their cheeks were even beginning to feel sore. The loud splattering of rain on the sidewalks and street seemed only to be dull background noise in Richter’s ears, and the fluorescent white light of the bus stop had turned on above them. He felt his mouth open to say something more, but then the familiar rumble of an engine caught his attention first. He looked up back to the street, and there he saw his bus pulling up, slowing down next to the curb.

The woman also saw the vehicle come by and asked, “Is this your bus?”

“Yeah, it is.” He hefted his backpack on his back and stretched, hearing the faint and dull pop of his joints as he did. “Sorry about cutting our conversation short, but my next wouldn’t be here until the next two hours.”

“It’s fine, it can’t be helped,” she said, shaking her head. “It was fun talking to you. My bus will be coming in a few minutes, so don’t worry about me being here long in the rain.”

Richter frowned slightly, but nonetheless conceded. “Okay. Maybe another day?”

“Sure, if we meet again.”

A small grin appeared on his face at that. He nodded before entering through the opens doors of the bus and climbing the steps inside. When he got to his seat, he intentionally picked one next to a window. There he saw the young woman smiling up at him, as well as giving him a small wave with her raised hand. Richter grin turned into a smile and he waved back, even as the bus doors closed and it drove away from the stop away from sight.

Partway through the ride, he chuckled at himself when he realized he didn't even get her name. What an idiot.

* * *

 

It had been a whole week since he’s seen her, and yet their encounter was still clear in his mind. So it was understandable, at least to him, that he smiled excitedly when he saw her at the same bus stop waiting for her ride to come.

“Hey,” he greeted, coming up next to her. She turned in surprise, before having her expression change into a smile of her own.

“Hi,” she replied back.

“Mind if I take a seat?” he asked, gesturing to the empty spit next to her. When she shook her head, he sat down.

There was a small pause before he continued. “Nice weather. Well, nicer than before that’s for sure.”

She nodded. “For sure.” Indeed, the weather was much more favorable, with friendlier looking clouds and even the sun peeking out for a few times that day already.

“Now that I think about it, I hadn’t introduced myself last time, did I?” He outstretched a hand to her. “Richter Belmont, nice to meet you.”

She blinked, as if not expecting this. Then, she relaxed and took his hand. “Lucina Lowell,” she said, her smile still present. “It’s nice to meet you as well.”

**Author's Note:**

> guess what rarepair hell i'm still stuck in. also i wrote and finished this at 4:30 am, the most productive i've been in forever. anyways here ya go


End file.
